A) Yondota Falls to Copps Mine Rd (1.5 miles)Class IV(V)
1.5 Miles
Avg Gradient 60 fpm
Max Gradient 73 fpm
Erik Strahler Yondota Falls
Erik Strahler Yondota Falls Photo of Erik Strahler by C.J. Arnold taken 08/26/06 @ 1.24 (140cfs Black) Gauge Information
Presque Isle
River DescriptionThe meat of this short reach is the Yondota Falls sequence, which lies about a quarter mile downstream from the put-in. The Presque Isle tumbles 52' in a third of a mile over an interesting and varied series of drops. Though this reach is located quite a distance upstream of the more well known sections of the Presque, the river is still fair sized here and has some power.Driving to the put-in, the Presque is a calm, meandering river visible to the right. This soon changes after the river passes beneath the put-in bridge. The pace of the current quickens and some light whitewater develops as the river makes a turn to the right. There is a small drop and just below, the river constricts considerably next to a river-left rock outcropping and drops away. Get out to scout on the right. There is a 8'-10' vertical falls here that drops into a narrow slot. The hydraulic at the base very powerful and potentially dangerous, backed-up by a spline of rock which splits the already narrow channel below in two. There is a secondary channel to the right which may allow one to bypass the bad hole and drop in downstream at higher flows. Following this falls, the river spreads out again and enters a series of technical boulderbed ledge drops (3'-5') with only a few eddies in between. Wood collects here but there are multiple clean routes. Some of the routes work and some aren't so pretty so it may be best to scout the entire sequence beforehand. The run-out from the last of these ledges is the lead-in to the final drop, a bouldery medium angle cascade of about 12'-15'. Again, there are multiple lines and some may hurt. Below here are some waves and a hole in the run-out. The remaining distance to the take-out may hold some lighter whitewater (but I've not yet seen it). Yondota Falls may be found by turning north off of Hwy 2 in Marenisco on Cty 523 (Copps Mine Rd) and driving north for about 3.25 miles. The shuttle here is simple. From the put-in bridge, continue north following the main road and bearing to the left until reaching the river. One could do a shuttle-less run here by simply running to the bottom of the falls sequence and carrying back up the river right trail but it's probably easier to just float down to the listed take-out. Philippe Damiano reports: Andy Lovering, Erik Strahler, and Chris Arnold ran this section at 1.24ft. The falls was the highlight, but the rest of the section was good. Desperate paddlers might find refuge running laps on this section if everything else is too low. StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2006-08-31 15:27:42
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